Health equity is about empowering the opportunity for a healthy life for all people. Our focus on health disparities research plays a key role in improving health equity by investigating different biological factors, social determinants, and healthcare use between the general population and underserved groups who face health equity problems. The application of technological, methodological, and analytic innovations to catalyze discoveries from the bench to the community will make a profound impact on health equity in our community and beyond.
Health equity involves speaking about gaps and potential barriers to access in healthcare and identifying and leveraging funding opportunities to spur innovative programs that can combat these barriers. Population health, health disparities, health equities, and outcomes effectiveness research all have one ideal in common—they aim for better health for the greater community. At UAB, we are known for being both in the community and of the community. As such, it is our responsibility to work with our partners to create knowledge and solutions.
The following programs, projects, and partnerships are examples of how we are accomplishing this research focus area’s mission:
- Live HealthSmart Alabama, the winning project selected for the inaugural UAB Grand Challenge. Its goal is to make Alabama a model of healthy living by lifting our state out of the bottom 10 in national health rankings by the year 2030.
- UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC) is generating and disseminating research knowledge from biomedical, behavioral, and social sciences to reduce the health disparities experienced by vulnerable populations and disadvantaged communities locally, regionally, and nationally.
- Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship (ICOS), founded in 2015, is reducing the burden of cancer and its long-term effects across all segments of the population, through interdisciplinary research, health promotion, and education, envisioning a world where cancer survivors live long and healthy lives.
- Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research supports the training and conduct of rigorous person-centered outcomes research, spanning the health system, community, and population health settings by offering training and enrichment programs, and facilitating networking and collaboration.
- Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health’s goal is to improve overall health and functional well-being and promote equity in health outcomes among people around the world. It will present a coordinated, comprehensive, and sustainable infrastructure to mitigate the most pressing and complex global health challenges.
- Center for Women’s Reproductive Health is one of UAB’s signature endeavors with the mission to conduct research aimed at improving the reproductive health and survival of all women, especially minority and under-served women and their families.
- Center for AIDS Research supports cutting-edge HIV basic, clinical, and behavioral research by offering services and expertise to any researcher interested in HIV or related areas.
- Center for Engagement in Disability Health and Rehabilitation Sciences is part of the UAB-Lakeshore Foundation Research Collaborative and carries the distinction of being a member of the UAB University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Centers (UWIRC) program. The mission of this program is to accelerate and implement scientific discoveries, technological advances, behavioral practices, and social norms that will allow people with disabilities to increase their overall quality of life.
Task Force Members
Michael Mugavero, M.D. - Lead, Department of Medicine Medicine/ID
Alan Tita, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D - Department of OB/GYN
Andrea Cherrington, M.D. - Department of Medicine/DOPM
Bertha Hidalgo, Ph.D - School of Public Health
Gabriella Oates, Ph.D - Department of Pediatrics
Mona Fouad, M.D., M.P.H. - Department of Medicine/DOPM
Annual Updates